


The Chimney Sweep

by BookshopLaura



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Magic Revealed, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 10:10:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4560627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookshopLaura/pseuds/BookshopLaura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin accidentally de-ages himself and finds himself stuck as a seven year old. </p><p>As always, cookies and eternal gratitude for comments. Just a one-shot, I will work on the others, I promise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Chimney Sweep

Merlin hadn't meant to reveal himself to Arthur as a sorcerer. He certainly hadn't meant to do it by accidentally turning himself into a seven year old. Of course, he'd tried to pass it off as a curse, but Merlin was always a terrible liar as a child. And now he is a child, his brain is a child's too apparently, so what he absolutely believes to be a plausible lie, Arthur sees right through. He's crossing his arms, raising an eyebrow and then Merlin can feel his own cheeks burning, and he's lowering his head in shame. Then he's told Arthur everything and Arthur is livid. Merlin's never seen him this angry. Not only that, Arthur towers over him as an adult, and he's built like an army on his own. So when he physically barges past Merlin he nearly takes him off his feet, and leaves a purple bruise that Merlin can't help rubbing through his jacket. 

The jacket which had belonged to a young Arthur. That Arthur had lent him when Arthur and Gaius had first discovered him, shaking and confused in his room in clothes that were far too big, crying because as a child he hadn't been able to reverse the spell to make himself an adult again. He'd been great then, comforting and as sympathetic as Arthur was capable of, ordering his childhood clothes out of storage immediately. But now? Now Arthur is angry and has Merlin back doing chores, if not more chores than normal, in payment. Merlin is shaken from his reverie, just starting to clean the fireplace, by Arthur's sharp voice.

"Don't bother cleaning it yet. It's blocked... You're a child. You can go up it and clear it" says Arthur bitterly.

"What?" says Merlin, confused.

"You. Are. A. Child. Merlin. Children clean chimneys. Now crawl up there and clear it! Do you understand me?" Then he's shoving the poker from the fire into Merlin's hand. Merlin looks at him for a moment, then nods. 

"Good! And don't even think about using Magic. I'll know!" Then Arthur is marching from the room. 

For a moment Merlin stands staring at the poker. He feels tears sting his eyes, but brushes them angrily away, because maybe, just maybe if he does this, Arthur will forgive him. 

As soon as he steps under the fireplace into the chimney his heart starts beating. It's a very tight fit, even for a child, and it's incredibly sooty & dark. But he can't back out. So he searches the wall, finds the footholds and handholds built in for just such an occasion. He starts to climb, but the footholds are slippery with soot, and disturbing the soot kicks some of it into the air, so soon Merlin is eight foot in the air, covered in soot and coughing. He can see the blockage not far off, a black block in front of the white of the sky in the distance. It's a dead bird, he can see a mangy wing spread out a few feet above him. But his hands are shaking, looking down makes him dizzy and the tears have started again. For a while he stays where he is, trying to steady himself, because he's stuck, he knows he's stuck. 

"Merlin! Merlin, where are you?" comes Arthur's loud and angry voice from the fireplace below.

"I'm in here! Arthur, I'm stuck!" he shouts desperately. 

"What do you mean you're stuck?"

"I can't get down!" he shouts, clinging to the slippery brickwork. There's a pause. Then Arthur's head is appearing under the fireplace. 

"What's the problem?" asks Arthur bluntly.

"I'm scared." says Merlin in a quiet voice.

"Don't be stupid Merlin! Have you cleared the blockage?" demands Arthur, 

"No," says Merlin, crying a little as he does, his voice quiet and high.

"Then get on with it!" growls Arthur, and disappears.

"Arthur? Arthur!! Arthur, please!" screams Merlin, but then he hears the door slam shut. 

"Arthuuuuuuuurr!" he cries, leaning his head against the sooty brickwork and sobbing. 

It feels like a long while before he forces himself to take a tentative reach for the next handhold. But it's broken off, now just a smooth arch downwards. Merlin takes his hand away. But Arthur will be angry if he doesn't do it. He tests the grip again, wipes it with his hand, then rubs his hands on Arthur's trousers, trying to get a more secure hold. He thinks he's got it, takes his foot off and pushes off. He is just about to grab the next hold when his grip gives, and he's plummeting, then nothing. 

\---

Merlin wakes up, his heart thumping painfully though his head. His head hurts, his leg hurts, he's landed awkwardly in the grate, and he's lucky he didn't land on any of the sharper prongs around the grate. But when he puts his hand up to feel his head, it feels wet and his hand comes away covered in blood. Merlin panics. He's failed, Arthur will be angry. He stumbles to his feet, which is awkward. His left leg is bad, incredibly painful. But all he can think is that he needs to get away, to go and hide. Because Arthur will be back and Arthur will be angry with him. Because he hasn't done what he was told. Because he's a sorcerer. 

It occurs to him as he limps as fast as he can away from Arthur's chambers, that his leg might be broken. The shooting pain on every movement is testament to that. That's fine, he wants to go to Gaius' anyway, Gaius' will be safe. Gaius will look after him. But he's just turning towards Gaius' chambers when he sees Arthur coming along the corridor. He looks angry, his steely frown set in place. He hasn't seen Merlin, but is heading towards his chambers. Panicking, Merlin darts into the throne room and half runs, half limps across the room to hide behind the throne. He's there for a few minutes, trying to stifle his sobs so that no one can hear him. He hears the doors to the hall open. He hears light footsteps, and a rustling. A cloak maybe, but when he glances through the gaps between the thrones, it's Gwen, with a broom, and it's her dress that's swishing on the stone. She looks up as she hears his sniffing, and walks up to the thrones, looking confused. Then she looks around it.

"Oh, Merlin! What happened?" she asks, throwing the broom down, and kneeling down next to him. She wiping his tears with her thumbs and then her dress. Merlin just looks at her, unable to say anything, his eyes welling and lip wobbling until he feels a loud cry break out. Then Gwen, kind Gwen, is gathering him against her, wrapping one arm around his middle, the other stroking his head. But then she pauses, pulling her hand away to look at it. Merlin can see it, a large blob of scarlet marring her perfectly clean hands. 

"Oh Merlin, your head!" she cries "What happened?" 

"I fell down the chimney! And I hurt my leg!" he cries, his fingers digging into the material of her dress. Her hair falls over his face as she leans down to hug him closer. It's comforting in a way, almost like it'll hide him. 

"Why were you up the chimney?" she asks quietly, beginning to rub his back.

"Arthur told me to! He's going to be angry with me! Please don't tell him I'm here! Please!" 

"Merlin..." she begins, but suddenly Merlin can hear Arthur's voice from the hall.

"Merlin! Merlin!!" He sounds frantic, Merlin's going to be in so much trouble, he tenses up against Gwen.

"Merlin!" The door is flung open, smacking against the wall and Merlin can hear footsteps and heavy breathing across the hall. Merlin lets out a stiffled cry into Gwen's arm. 

"Merlin? Merlin, are you..." Then the footsteps are running and Arthur's appearing from around the thrones. Merlin's only peaking and quickly hides his face again, bringing his knees up defensively, which draws a cry. 

"Oh God, you're leg!" and it's Arthur. He feels Arthur's hands tentatively touching at his leg. Merlin looks up confused. Arthur's face looks like a ghost, he's pale, maybe even a bit green. His eyes are wide, and he looks scared, Arthur looks scared. 

"Arthur, his head, too. He's bled quite a lot. You need to get Gaius." When Arthur's eyes look up to meet Gwen's he looks aghast and Merlin keeps looking at him, because he doesn't look angry, he looks frightened. Then he's jumping up and running to the door to yell for the guards to fetch Gaius. But then he's back round by Merlin, sitting down close to Gwen, his hand shaking as he brings it to inspect Merlin's head.

"Arthur, what were you thinking! Sending him up a chimney!" Arthur doesn't answer immediately, but he pulls his hand away, and stares at the floor, tears in his eyes.

"I wanted to punish him" he says sadly. Merlin turns his head back into Gwen's arm, wrapping both his arms round her arm to anchor himself.

"Oh God, Merlin I'm so sorry. I nearly killed him, Gwen! I left him, I left him stuck. I thought he was just playing around because he didn't want to do it. I was only gone ten minutes. But when I came back..." Merlin peaks an eye open at the pause. Arthur is bringing his hands to his face, pushing the heels of his palm into his eyes. He's trying not to cry, but then he lets out a sob, and when he lowers his hands, his eyes are a little red, and tears are rubbing down his cheeks. 

"When, when I came back he wasn't there, but there was a... a pool of blood in the grate and... and a line of it down the wall." Then Arthur's just bursting into tears again. He was worried, Arthur was worried. 

"I... I didn't get the bird out." says Merlin quietly, watching Arthur carefully as he says it.

"Oh Merlin, I don't give a damn about the bird! Come here!" And Arthur's holding out his arms. Arthur never holds out his arms, Arthur would never hug Merlin. And for a moment Merlin holds back because this can't be right, Arthur wouldn't. But then he's pushing himself away from Gwen just enough to hold his arms out to Arthur. It's painful to move much further, but then Arthur is gathering him up in his arms, and holding him close. 

"I'm sorry, Arthur!" he wails helplessly in Arthur's ear. And he doesn't just mean about the bird. He means about the magic and the lies and everything that's happened.

"I'm sorry too" whispers Arthur hugging him close.

**Author's Note:**

> When Gaius arrives, he's less than impressed. He gives Arthur a lecture that Arthur won't forget in a long time, and neither will Merlin, who was being bandaged a little roughly at the same time. Merlin, he chastises for scaring him, but then bandages and washes thoroughly, and observes closely for a couple of days. In that time, Merlin gets waited on hand and foot, mostly by Arthur, who is feeling incredibly guilty. And a couple of days later Gaius presents Merlin with a tonic which restores him to his rightful age. Arthur is a little colder with him, which has Merlin frowning, and then begins to snipe at him about lying and betrayal. Merlin can't help but ask if Arthur was only upset that he nearly killed him because he was a child at the time, and Arthur seems frozen to the spot. When he turns to face Arthur he looks like the world just ended. Merlin hobbles towards him to apologise, but Arthur is wrapping himself around Merlin, burying his face into Merlin's shoulder, whispering.  
> "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" over and over. Merlin just holds him until he stops crying.


End file.
